Month: August 2017

Northeast State shines the spotlight on current faculty members making a difference in the lives of students. Associate Professor Maggie Flint teaches in the Mathematics division.

Faculty Focus, Maggie Flint
Professor & Mathematician. Walters State Community College graduate. East Tennessee State University, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.

How did you join the faculty at Northeast State?

It actually started when I graduated from high school. I was offered a full scholarship to the University of Tennessee if I would agree to teach math. And my response at the time was, ‘Why in the world would I do that?!’ I got married and had a family. After my children were grown I rediscovered my love for math, and it fueled my desire to return to college. When I applied to teach President Wade Powers interviewed me and asked why I wanted to come to Northeast State. I told him everything that I had heard about Northeast State suggested it was about to become someplace very special. I wanted to be a part of something special, and I feel like I have been for more than 25 years now.

What was your community college experience as a student and now as a faculty member?

I am a community college graduate from Walters State Community College so I have a lot of empathy for our students. I remember that feeling of being part of a family in that everyone got to know me and cared about me. The community college experience has not changed in its delivery because it is very student focused. A student is a name, a person with children and interests. I’ve always sought to get to know our students as people and extend that same feeling of family here.

Maggie Flint

Why should students not fear math classes or math as a discipline?

I don’t think they fear math as a concept. Instead, I believe from my experience they fear it because somewhere – usually in elementary school – they were told they couldn’t do math or were made to feel inadequate about it. The message I give them is, ‘You can learn math.’ It is my job to help them overcome that fear because I love to see them succeed.

What math courses do you teach? How fulfilling is it for you and the student when he or she understands the subject matter?

This semester I’m teaching Finite Math and Business Calculus. I’ve taught every mathematics course offered at Northeast State. Students vary; some like math and excel at it. Others hate it and others say it isn’t their favorite thing but they can do it. I have a folder where I keep the thank you notes I get from former students for helping them pass math courses. Not all of them were “A” students in math, but they appreciated learning. Those students are dear to me.

How does math serve as an important tool for people in their everyday lives?

You have to buy groceries. You have to manage your finances. You have to make decisions based on the facts and data, not emotions. People will tell you statistics about things and you need to be able to discern what they are saying is true or made up. Life is a “word problem,” and we use math skills all the time that most of us don’t think about.

By 2025, two million jobs are expected to go unfilled in the automotive industry due to a skills gap.

In response to this growing need, Workforce Solutions at Northeast State and the Center for Industrial Services at the University of Tennessee, are offering a leadership development program targeting automotive-related industries.

Northeast State and UT will offer a leadership program to address the auto industry’s growing skills gap.

The Tennessee Automotive Supply Chain Workforce Readiness Program, funded in part by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), is the first program in Tennessee to bring workforce development, education, and industry experts together to develop a program customized for the automotive industry and designed to prepare workers for managerial and leadership roles.

The training will be delivered in a half-day format, one day a week. Topics include leadership, communications, coaching, supervision, quality control, safety, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

The training will be held at the Basler Library on Northeast State’s Blountville Campus. The first session will begin Sept. 12, 2017.

Fees for the training are $1,600.00 per participant which includes all materials.

The course fee, which includes all materials is $1,150.00. Instructor for the course is Debra Manis, SHRM-SCP, SPHR. The registration deadline is Aug. 21.

The review helps prepare individuals for the SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) examinations.

SHRM certifications directly link on-the-job scenarios and realistic work situations, making them relevant for HR professionals. To date, more than 100,000 HR professionals have earned SHRM certifications.

The exams are accredited by the Buros Center for Testing, a global leader in evaluating the quality of psychometric examinations.

Enjoy a night of terrific music when two extraordinary musicians collaborate for a concert at Northeast State Community College on Sept. 14.

Award winning musicians Jeff Little and Wayne Henderson will perform at the College’s Regional Center for the Performing Arts on the Blountville campus next to Tri-Cities Regional Airport. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The concert begins at 7:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online now at www.northeaststate.edu/tickets.

Northeast State hosts the concert as part of the College’s Because of You weeklong scholarship fundraising event. The concert and other events raise money to benefit students with scholarships and other programs.

Jeff Little’s approach to the piano is based on the deep musical traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With few exceptions, the piano does not play a prominent part in Appalachian or Americana music, and is rarely the lead instrument. But Little is an exception – and a remarkable one. His distinctive two-handed style, much influenced by the mountain flat-picked guitar tradition, is breathtaking in its speed, precision, and clarity.

Jeff Little (Courtesy of Pat Jarrett/Virginia Folklife Program).

Little’s performances include The Smithsonian Institution, The National Folk Festival, American Piano Masters, Merlefest and many festivals, performing arts centers, and colleges throughout the U.S. He has also taken his traditional piano style around the world performing in countries such as France, Bahrain, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. He has released four CDs, and been featured on National Public Radio and PBS many times.

Wayne Henderson is the Appalachian guitarist that Nashville pickers all talk about. A National Heritage Award recipient, Henderson is regarded as a brilliant musician and instrument maker. His reputation as a top-notch finger-picking guitarist is well-known throughout the region and country.

Wayne Henderson

Sometimes Wayne’s playing is mistaken for flatpicking, but he actually uses a thumb-pick and fingerpicks to achieve amazing speed and fluidity, transforming fiddle and banjo pieces, and even the occasional jazz standard, into stunning guitar solos. In addition to his reputation as a guitarist, Henderson is a luthier of great renown.

Blues guitarist John Cephas said that Wayne Henderson “is probably the most masterful guitar maker in this whole United States.” Wayne has dazzled audiences at Carnegie Hall, on three national tours of “Masters of the Steel-String Guitar”, and in seven nations of Europe, Asia and Africa.

Please join us this evening for a night of music that benefits our student community. For more information visit www.northeaststate.edu.

So you’re planning to graduate with your college degree. How can you leverage your new skill sets(s) into a long-term career with growth potential and earning potential?

The Northeast State Office of Career Development Services wants to help maximize your potential with the “What Can You Do with Your Major” workshop happening Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 2:00 p.m. in Blazier Wilson Hall (RCAT), 222 W. Main St., Kingsport.

Career Services wants to help you put your degree to work.

The workshop attendees meet in Room 113 where Career Services representatives will help you discover how your major can develop in terms of career growth.